Dec 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) in action against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA — It's nearly impossible to be in the presence of Sixers guard Jared McCain and not feel a positive vibe emanating from the second-year guard. His smile is ever-present. Teammates light up when McCain comes around. Locker room neighbor Tyrese Maxey particularly enjoys his teammates' company, as the two have wonderful back-and-forths that include a little teasing of each other, occasional compliments, always respect and love.
And while coach Nick Nurse's conversation about Monday's embarrassing 37-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets concentrated on flushing and forgetting, the lone positive of that game was the play of McCain, who deposited 16 points in 23 minutes of play. It was the most time he got on a court in 14 games, which included four Did Not Plays.
Tuesday was a flush day as the Milwaukee Bucks were next on the schedule for the Sixers, who had a horrible couple of days of travel due to the East Coast storm following Saturday's loss to the New York Knicks. They ultimately returned to Philadelphia around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning from Charlotte and everyone probably wanted to erase the previous couple of days from their bodies and minds.
Except for McCain. And he certainly didn't.
With fellow backup guard Quentin Grimes sidelined with a sprained ankle, McCain was the first guard off the bench Tuesday against the Bucks and he delivered 17 points in 24 minutes, drilling six of his eight field goal attempts, including five-of-six from three-point range in his team's 139-122 win over the Bucks, who were without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"It felt great," said the affable McCain. "These past few weeks I've been really focused on being really present. Being present in the moment and not trying to look in the past or look ahead. I think more than anything I was happy with how present I was."
Great hasn't been a word McCain has probably thought too much about when it comes to his profession recently. His promising rookie season was cut short to a knee injury after just 23 games, and a thumb injury in preseason set him back this campaign. Understandably, he hasn't been himself yet this season and the rigors of an NBA schedule don't really allow a coach to have the patience to work a player, particularly a bench player, back into form during games. But Monday and Tuesday, Nurse may have witnessed McCain finding himself.
"It was really good," said Nurse. "Obviously Q (Grimes) got ruled out, so he kind of slid into that first guard off the bench slot and he played very well, which is great to see, a couple games in a row. Obviously, he shot it well, but I thought he made some good decisions, too. He got three assists, but I thought a couple of times he drove in there and got the kind of chain reaction ball movement started a couple times, so that was good to see."
That movement added to huge nights from Paul George and Joel Embiid. George deposited 32 points, 16 coming in the third quarter, including 10 in a row, while making a franchise high-tying nine of 15 three-pointers. Embiid continued his terrific play of late, collecting 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists in his 29 minutes.
"Coach called my number early and just going from there," said George. "For me, tonight, it's just trying to bring in extra energy. I know they're tired. If I can be a force and kind of boost the team morale, that was my whole mindset coming into it. I thought we played great offensively as a unit."
And George acknowledged the play of McCain. "It was huge," he said. "It just felt more like him. It felt more like his rhythm, his pace, his timing. I thought all the shots he took came into the flow of the offense. It just didn't look like he was rushed at all. He was in his comfort zone and that's what you love to see. Young guys like that, and you know they can put the ball in the hole, he's a pure shooter. He works on his game tirelessly and he works on his game effortlessly. For him it's just continuing to give him confidence, to keep going, keep shooting, keep finding your rhythm, keep finding your shots. Cause again, we need him and we know how well he can shoot it."
Following his big performance, Maxey had to have some fun with McCain, reminding him that he predicted he'd have a big night. "I was like, man, you're going to hit four threes tonight. He hit five." To which VJ Edgecombe replied, "Why didn't you tell him he'd have 50 tonight?"
Laughs all around. That is part of what McCain brings to the team off the court. And it shows even more when he has performances like Tuesday's.
"Just to see the ball go in as a shooter, that's all you want," McCain said of his scoring in Monday's blowout. "I think it carried over a bit to have that confidence to shoot it again. The mental part (has been toughest). Coming off two injuries, trying to stay ready in these big moments. I think that's the toughest part. It's hard to be confident and know when your time is going to come because you never know. It's super random. Sometimes it comes at bad times when you're down by 50 in a game but you've got to take those opportunities and treat them like there's no garbage time. That's what I'm most grateful for, being able to stay mentally ready and know that's going to come."
The reaction was as if a seven-footer threw a lob to a six-footer who then threw down a thunderous dunk. As it was, Tyrese Maxey was the one who threw a lob to Joel Embiid on a fastbreak and the 7-foot-2 center ran, jumped and deposited an alley-oop for the first time in quite a while. Maxey jumped into Embiid in celebration and the bench reacted as if they had just won a big bet, which maybe they did.
"The way I was running, yeah sure (he was going to catch it and dunk it)," said Embiid.
"I told him before the game I was going to throw him a lob," said Maxey. "He had one of two choices, let the ball go out of bounds or go and score it."
Joel Embiid alley-oop jam 😤
Embiid (24 pts) and the @sixers bench were HYPED!
Tap to watch on NBC and Peacock: https://t.co/yKnLX0FSGN pic.twitter.com/aVd6ga7g8F
Doc Rivers is now coaching his fifth NBA team in the Milwaukee Bucks. His career has spanned 27 seasons, including three here with the Sixers from 2020 to 2023. During that time he compiled a 154-82 record and reached the second round of the playoffs each season, losing in seven games to Atlanta in 2021 and in seven to the Celtics in 2023. His memories of his time here are good ones, especially when it comes to Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. He was instrumental in drafting Maxey with the 21st overall pick in 2020.
"If you remember, that was a rough stretch because that was during Covid," Rivers said. "You couldn't even have real meetings and stuff. It was a quick process. What I remember most was that we had, on draft day, we had an order. Sam Cassell and I had fallen on Maxey. But there was a couple of guys in front of him that hadn't been drafted and we had a silent panic. It all fell for us. It really fell right into our hands. The first question I asked him and (Kentucky teammate Immanuel) Quickley was who was the point guard and they both said the other guy. I got a kick out of that and said that these guys want to shoot the ball. Tyrese just keeps getting better. No one is outworking him. It's really cool to watch how quickly he's done it."
The veteran coach showed a little bit of empathy when talking about Embiid and the situation the Sixers are in with his injury status yet again.
"It's like Groundhog's Day, it really is," said Rivers. "I was telling a Hall of Fame player that I coached that Joe is the most talented player that I've ever coached. He is. The things that you guys see and then the things that you don't see in practice sometimes that he can do, it's incredible. I think if he ever went into the playoffs healthy... They've had some big pieces here. They are a dangerous team, but it all comes down to that. Nothing's changed.
"I loved my time here. I used to say it all the time. I took a job where the year before they lost in the first round as an eighth seed and the first year we won the East in the regular season. We were one game away, twice, to getting to the East finals, which is never my goal. My goal is getting to the finals. I get the history that the team hasn't gone, but your goal has to be higher than that. I made some unbelievable relationships. I gained 15 pounds here because of the restaurants. Philly Cricket, I'm still a member. It's nice when you get friendships and stuff like that."
